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A lubricant derived from the mucus of cow salivary glands has shown promise at preventing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a herpes virus from infecting healthy human cells.

Mucus is a protective gel that lubricates the epithelial tissues that cover our organs and line our body cavities, as well as acting as a first line of defence against microorganisms. The main component of mucus, a protein called mucin, .

at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and his colleagues wanted to test mucin鈥檚 potential at preventing HIV-1, the most widespread type of HIV, and herpes simplex 2 virus (HSV-2), which causes a sexually transmitted infection that results in genital herpes.

First, the researchers extracted mucus from cow salivary glands, which they modified into a gel.

Some human epithelial cells were treated with the gel in the laboratory. Another set of these cells were not treated, acting as the controls. The two groups of cells were then exposed to either HIV-1, HSV-2 or no virus.

One hour later, the gel was removed from the cells in the first group. All the cells were then incubated, with or without the viruses, for two days.

Among the cells that were exposed to HSV-2 or HIV-1 after being treated with the gel, just 20 per cent and 30 per cent became infected, respectively, compared with 100 per cent of the exposed cells without any gel treatment.

Previous research suggests that mucus contains pores that are larger than some viruses, creating a mesh-like structure that traps the pathogens. In the latest study, the gel bound to the gp120 glycoprotein on HIV-1, which it uses to enter most human cells.

This product will be beneficial in regions where HIV is high and condom use is low due to stigma or unavailability, says Yan. 鈥淭he next step is to try the same with pigs鈥� salivary mucus,鈥� he says.

The lubricant could be manufactured as a by-product of the meat industry, according to Yan. Pigs make up a substantial proportion of this industry and it therefore makes sense to test the potential of their mucus, he says.

鈥淎 major benefit of such a product is that it is non-invasive, easy to use and offers the user better control over their sexual health,鈥� says at the University of California, San Francisco.

For the past decade, people who treat HIV have been looking for a lubricant that would reduce the sexual transmission of HIV and avoid any stigma associated with other methods of contraception, she says. 鈥淪uch a gel could be a silver bullet against HIV/AIDS.鈥�

Nevertheless, this gel is still in a laboratory testing phase and is yet to go through living animal and human trials. 鈥淚 think it will take at least five years before this gel becomes a part of our anti-HIV/HSV arsenal,鈥� says Gandhi.